Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre Appoints WCS as Representative for Europe

The Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, scheduled to open in October 2020, has appointed Worldwide Convention Specialists (WCS) as its representative in Europe.

Based in Germany, WCS supports convention centres around the world, including Kuala Lumpur, Toronto, Cape Town, Stockholm, Basel and Brussels, and now Christchurch.

Te Pae Christchurch General Manager, Ross Steele, said, “Our research shows more than 53% of international associations are headquartered in Europe, which is why this region is a significant target market for Te Pae Christchurch. Winning a convention is like bidding for the Olympics, with a planning cycle that can be between 2-12 years in advance. So, we need to be in front of every potential client to showcase Christchurch as a future host city contender.”

AEG Ogden has had a long association with the WCS Director, Anette Palm, who understands the importance of regular 'in-market' meetings with clients face-to-face.

“Our history shows that associations primarily book events with destinations or venues with whom they have built a mutually beneficial business relationship and when AEG Ogden are involved it gives the client extra confidence during the selection process,” Ms Palm said. “With Te Pae Christchurch opening next year, it is an exciting proposition to share with our long-term client base - many of whom organise more than two or three events worldwide, and most importantly, seek venues within the Asia Pacific region.”

New Zealand, and in particular Christchurch, has a strong pool of global experts that are internationally renowned as some of the world’s best practices in the fields of earth and health sciences, building technology, ICT, agribusiness and international education.

“Based on the 2018 International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) global meetings ranking, New Zealand is ranked 46th in the world as a conference destination and 12th in the Asia Pacific region. In collaboration with the country’s academic community leaders, Tourism New Zealand and ChristchurchNZ, we will be working towards raising this position in the years ahead with Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre being a lead catalyst for this growth,” Mr Steele said.

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